Lawmaker considering sequel to debt proposal

Published: Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 10:51 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 10:51 p.m.

BATON ROUGE — A congressman who represents portions of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes believes taxpayers should have the option of helping pay down the federal deficit.

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, said taxpayers would only have to check a box on their tax forms to pay above and beyond their tax liability in an effort to offset the shortfall.

For the most recently completed fiscal year, the federal deficit was $1.1 trillion, down from $1.3 trillion during the 2010-2011 fiscal year, according to President Barack Obama’s administration.

Scalise calls it the “Buffett Rule,” named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who made headlines for admitting his secretary pays a higher percentage of income tax than he does because of special loopholes for the wealthy.

The proposal passed the House unanimously by a voice vote in September, but there has been little movement on the concept from the Senate side.

Scalise said he plans on reintroducing the legislation during the next session of Congress.

The legislation, though, has as much to do about policy as it does politics.

“The president keeps insisting that he wants to raise taxes on hard-working families and small businesses, and has used Warren Buffett as the poster-child for his class warfare scheme because Buffett complains that he doesn’t pay enough in taxes,” Scalise said.

If Buffett and others feel they’re not paying enough in taxes, they can simply check the box and “put their money where their mouth is,” Scalise said.

Obama is touting his own “Buffett Rule,” which the White House’s website describes as a “simple principle” about fair shares: “No household making more than a $1 million should pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay. For the 98 percent of American families who make less than $250,000, taxes should not go up.”

Scalise said his “Buffett Rule” is a “common sense alternative” to the president’s plan.

“The problem we’re having in America is not that we are taxed too little, it’s that Washington is spending too much, and you don’t solve that problem by sending Washington even more money to spend in the form of job-killing tax hikes,” he said.

The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, took the position about a month ago that Obama’s program would help create 43,000 jobs in 2013 and roughly 95,000 jobs per year from 2014 through 2017.

EPI Senior Policy Analyst Ethan Pollack said Obama’s Buffet Rule would raise about $60 billion for the federal government over the next five years and nearly $163 billion over a decade if implemented, which could then be invested in job creation.

“Implementing the Buffett Rule would make the tax system fairer, and it would generate much-needed revenue to invest in job-creation measures such as repairing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure,” Pollack said.

As drafted in this year’s legislation, the voluntary check box proposed by Scalise that would be included on tax forms would be accompanied by the following message: “By checking here, I signify that in addition to my tax liability (if any), I would like to donate the included payment to be used exclusively for the purpose of paying down the national debt.”

Beginning in January, Scalise will begin representing the newly configured 1st Congressional District, which will include southern Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

The new congressional district will also include the parishes of Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany, and portions of Jefferson, Orleans and Tangipahoa parishes.

<p>BATON ROUGE — A congressman who represents portions of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes believes taxpayers should have the option of helping pay down the federal deficit. </p><p>Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, said taxpayers would only have to check a box on their tax forms to pay above and beyond their tax liability in an effort to offset the shortfall. </p><p>For the most recently completed fiscal year, the federal deficit was $1.1 trillion, down from $1.3 trillion during the 2010-2011 fiscal year, according to President Barack Obama's administration. </p><p>Scalise calls it the “Buffett Rule,” named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who made headlines for admitting his secretary pays a higher percentage of income tax than he does because of special loopholes for the wealthy. </p><p>The proposal passed the House unanimously by a voice vote in September, but there has been little movement on the concept from the Senate side. </p><p>Scalise said he plans on reintroducing the legislation during the next session of Congress. </p><p>The legislation, though, has as much to do about policy as it does politics. </p><p>“The president keeps insisting that he wants to raise taxes on hard-working families and small businesses, and has used Warren Buffett as the poster-child for his class warfare scheme because Buffett complains that he doesn't pay enough in taxes,” Scalise said. </p><p>If Buffett and others feel they're not paying enough in taxes, they can simply check the box and “put their money where their mouth is,” Scalise said. </p><p>Obama is touting his own “Buffett Rule,” which the White House's website describes as a “simple principle” about fair shares: “No household making more than a $1 million should pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay. For the 98 percent of American families who make less than $250,000, taxes should not go up.”</p><p>Scalise said his “Buffett Rule” is a “common sense alternative” to the president's plan. </p><p>“The problem we're having in America is not that we are taxed too little, it's that Washington is spending too much, and you don't solve that problem by sending Washington even more money to spend in the form of job-killing tax hikes,” he said.</p><p>The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, took the position about a month ago that Obama's program would help create 43,000 jobs in 2013 and roughly 95,000 jobs per year from 2014 through 2017. </p><p>EPI Senior Policy Analyst Ethan Pollack said Obama's Buffet Rule would raise about $60 billion for the federal government over the next five years and nearly $163 billion over a decade if implemented, which could then be invested in job creation. </p><p>“Implementing the Buffett Rule would make the tax system fairer, and it would generate much-needed revenue to invest in job-creation measures such as repairing the nation's crumbling infrastructure,” Pollack said.</p><p>As drafted in this year's legislation, the voluntary check box proposed by Scalise that would be included on tax forms would be accompanied by the following message: “By checking here, I signify that in addition to my tax liability (if any), I would like to donate the included payment to be used exclusively for the purpose of paying down the national debt.”</p><p>Beginning in January, Scalise will begin representing the newly configured 1st Congressional District, which will include southern Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. </p><p>The new congressional district will also include the parishes of Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany, and portions of Jefferson, Orleans and Tangipahoa parishes.</p><p>Jeremy Alford can be reached at jeremy@jeremyalford.com.</p>